Rejected
by GummyWormValkrie
Summary: Severa is constantly harassed and bullied by Mary for her insufferable personality, but one unexpected night turns everything around.
1. Chapter 1

**Rejected**

* * *

_I've been physically struck by other people at times, and although it hurts only a little on the outside it can completely kill your self-esteem and confidence. Perhaps this is what happened to Severa._

* * *

Severa glared at the tactician as she approached her, noticing her son shepherded underneath an arm like a typical caring parent. Morgan's injury was nothing compared to what Severa had seen other units sustain in the past few rough days, but this one was completely her own fault. She _had_ pushed Mary's son into the wyvern rider's axes- but it was either that option or she would most likely have been killed if both clusters of enemies swarmed her alone. Surely a mild injury was better than a fine child and a dead one?

Mary's face was furious as she faced the young mercenary, and Severa herself cringed a little at the volume of her shouts. "Severa, what in hell's name was that?! Do you _realize _how much danger you put my son in-!"

"Mary, are you daft?!" Severa shot back, her voice just as fearsome as Mary's. "I would have been completely overwhelmed if Morgan hadn't broken off, and quite possibly KILLED! Would you rather_ that_ have happened?!"

"Of course not!" Mary cried, her anger receding slightly but still considerable. Morgan managed to wriggle out of her grasp, and with a worried glance limped off in the direction of the medical tent. His sliced arm dripped small scarlet flecks onto the grass. The sight of it caused Mary's fury to reignite.

"Severa, you're not going to die _that_ easily after all the trouble I went to to rescue you from those ruffians! This is the reward you give me for putting _everyone else_ on the line?!"

"Just because I'm not as spectacular in every way as your damned son doesn't mean I'm worth _less _than him!" Severa protested, trying to stifle the genuine upset she was feeling by Mary's statement. The tactitian continued to scowl at her, but after a long and tense silence spoke again.

"Listen to me, and listen to me good, _girl_." It was that last word that made Severa's impulse to strike Mary stronger than ever.

"I've been so sick and tired of your attitude since the day you wormed your way into our ranks. Quite frankly, almost all of us are. You need to either treat us with a hell of a lot more respect, or I'm not gonna be any nicer to you. I don't care that you were being an idiot on the battlefield; my son is hurt because of you."

Severa was so enraged she felt her fists clench involuntarily. "...I was trying to _save myself_, don't you get it? And, Mary, if you hadn't noticed... _I'm hurt too!_"

Her last three words broke as she shouted them, thrusting up one of her pant legs to expose an angry but almost bloodless slash. She had received that from the handle of an axe, and although it was less bloody than Morgan's arm it was no less painful. Yet Mary gave it an indifferent glance, and merely offered a final sentence to Severa before turning away.

"I'd rather have a son like Morgan than a daughter like you."

Mary left before Severa could form a full reply. Just as eager to get away, Severa walked quickly away for her own tent, but stumbled after only a few steps. Each one sent waves of pain up and down through her leg. Ignoring it, she considered making a detour to the medical area, and yet her injured legs just wouldn't seem to carry her there despite her mind's orders.

* * *

Severa sat alone in her tent a long while later, trying to examine the bruises on her leg but unable to really concentrate on them. She could hardly believe the words Mary had thrown at her. The implication that she useless to the Brave Swords hit hard into her puffed-up ego, particularly at her latest proof that those statements could be true. Mary was not the _only_ one who acted irate because of Severa's sarcastic and negative attitude...

Suddenly Severa realized there were tear stains on the sheet covering her cot. Hastily she wiped her eyes of the residue and gritted her teeth to resist those still hiding behind her lashes, focusing instead on the wound covering her leg. She uncapped the healing salve sitting next to her and rubbed it slowly onto the bruises, grimacing at its cold sting against the battered flesh. As she tended to herself, Severa hypothesized that Morgan probably didn't have to take care of his own wounds... His mother treated him like he was a dream come true. Every time they were together, one was embracing the other...

All at once she jumped off her cot, too irritated to remain stationary anymore. The pain hadn't completely faded from her leg but she walked nevertheless, feeling her hands tremble in fury as she threw open her tent. Around her she could hear some units talking to one another and the occasional burst of laughter, the polar opposite of her emotions at the time. Since her face was focused immovably at the ground, she didn't realize Morgan approaching until she bumped directly into him.

"Oh! S-sorry, Severa." Morgan apologized evenly, rapidly gaining his composure. Severa tried to change the frustrated glare on her face in light of his politeness, but her sharp tongue had a mind of its own and was about to get the better of her once again.

"What're you sorry about? I bet you'd push me face-down into the dirt given half the chance, Morgan." Severa grumbled, loud enough for Morgan to hear her. The boy was quick to shake his head and refuse her contention, but Severa was in too much of a temper to let this slide.

"Don't lie to me, Morgan!" Severa cried, her voice rising with every word. "Why don't you go and hit up Morgan again?! I hear your mum thinks it great that her son's getting into girls!"

Morgan again denied her insults, looking more upset by this time. Severa wasn't done yet, and her voice caught the attention of several nearby units as she continued to let her tirade loose. "I'm so sick of being treated like some underachieving subhuman! All anyone _ever_ says to me is 'You need to stop being so negative!' or 'I'm sick of your attitude!' That's all! And I'm... I'm _sick of it!_"

Indignant tears were beginning to sprout from Severa's eyes, and seeing this Morgan tried to put his arms around her in an attempt to comfort her. However, she pushed him away like he was just another enemy and turned back to her tent in retreat. A few seconds before she could enter, a hand grabbed her shoulder, and she was pulled around to face- to her horror- Mary.

Severa knew Morgan's mother would be angry with her recent conduct. She didn't expect to receive a hard slap across her face before the ranting even began, and as such was too stunned by the impact to defend herself.

"You keep your hands off my son!" Mary yelled, highly frightening despite her small stature as she stood inches away from Severa, backing her against the wall of the tent. About to give a regular sassy comeback, Severa's mouth opened, but Mary's inflamed words cut her off before a sound could escape from her.

"Severa, can you go five minutes without ticking one of us off?! I don't know how much more of you I can_ take_!"

As if Mary's comments weren't enough, Robin appeared from his tent, attracted by the sounds of a verbal fight. Severa instinctively turned to leave, but stumbled once again because of the pain in her leg. Robin and his sister towered over her when he approached, and Severa found she wasn't able to look them defiantly in the face like most occasions. When Robin finally broke the embarrassing silence, Severa gave a startled shudder.

"I heard you were endangering Morgan on the battlefield..." Robin began in his quiet voice. At those words Severa snapped off his sentence.

"I've told you already, I WASN'T _endangering _him, for god's sake! But I'm not even going to bother explaining because it just seems like you two need somebody to take your anger out on, so why not pick on Severa? Why not pick on useless, worthless Severa?! If something went wrong, it must have been SEVERA'S fault! _Urrgggh!_"

Severa concluded her tirade with a cry of frustration, pushing herself up and running away from her tormentors as fast as her lamed leg would allow. She could hear even more insults thrown at her from Mary, but beyond caring Severa ran faster, the anger and shame building in her like a fire.

The mercenary only stopped running when she tripped over a wood pile. Only when struggled to her feet for the second time did she realize she was no longer in the camp- the familiar sights of the tents and soldiers were absent. The landscape was still familiar though, and unfazed, continued at a slow walk in the direction she was facing. If Mary wanted her gone, then she would go.

* * *

_Part II will be here very soon.  
_


	2. Chapter 2

**Rejected (Part II)**

* * *

_I GUARANTEE you Severa is not going to kill herself. Readers of my previous fics will probably think that's what I was planning._

* * *

No matter how she tried, and no matter how warm the afternoon sun felt on her back, Severa couldn't get her mind off everything she'd heard that day. She was, and has always been, a bad-tempered and backwards person- but she was well aware of that by now and needed no more encouragement for that fact. Snapping back at somebody who bothered her was natural, and her few efforts to try to change it had been futile. It was akin to trying to stop blinking because somebody told you it was "bad for your eyes." _Well, _Severa thought grimly, _everybody seems pretty convinced that I need to stop blinking. ...I don't WANT to stop blinking. Even if I could, anyway._

With a heavy sigh, Severa slowed her brisk walk to a lighter pace as more melancholy thoughts surfaced. Since being chastised for her general conduct was nothing new, perhaps that was a signal that it could be considered the truth. After all, these people saw her all day, every day, and what did they always say about her? Who would know her better than the Brave Swords... and therefore, have the most evidence into her character?

A sinking feeling tugged at Severa's stomach, something she was only too used to in the brief time she'd spent as a Brave Sword. If she was near anyone else, she would have hidden her feelings, but no human was around at the moment and the tears were feeling particularly insistent. Letting her face fall into her hands, Severa began to cry weakly. If once in her life had she felt worthless, she'd felt it a hundred times. And right now it seemed nothing her mediocre talents could ever accomplish would give her any degree of usefulness.

Eventually the daylight around Severa's hiding place began to fade. In the space of what felt like hours (but was probably much shorter) she did little else than wallow in self-pity, unmotivated to do anything else. Her leg felt better, but that was of no concern to her anymore. _Maybe if I was hurt badly enough in battle, they'd throw me out. Pretty sure Mary wouldn't think twice about it, and her damned husband must be itching to get me out of here by now. _

_Days like this... Seriously, why do I even bother? I goofed up real good in the future, why should this time be any different? I really am just useless. _

Severa's legs wanted to walk, but her brain refused to allow movement at the time. Her sleeves were already streaked from wiping her eyes over and over. She wished her mother was here- Cordelia, and perhaps her husband Stahl- were the only one who always treated her decently in the army. But going back meat facing Mary, Robin and Morgan again, and she felt that upcoming fiasco could wait. _If only,_ she thought, _if only they would just show me... Gods, I can't even think it. It's never going to happen._

It was only when the setting sun's warmth began to dissipate from the sky that Severa finally decided she had to head back. Reluctantly, and more due to the coldness seeping through her thin clothes than anything else, started off in the direction she had came. Try as she might to scrape up a positive from the receptacle of her mind, nothing seemed to be going her way. Silently, she began to wonder if things could get any worse.

* * *

By the time the sun had almost completely fallen, Severa still hadn't reached the campsite. She had paid no attention to where she was going during her flight from it, and by now became realized she was probably... lost? This part of the forest was unrecognizable and unfamiliar, and she could see no signs of human travel nearby- no footprints, burned-out campfires or dropped items.

Severa stopped where she was, looking in all directions with slow rotations of her neck. Faint rustlings seemed to be coming from the thick patch of trees behind her, and she unconsciously gripped the sword attached to her hip- the only weapon she had at the moment. Nervously, she called out a threatening "Show yourself... if you're there!"

There was silence from the forest. Keeping her eyes focused on the source of the apparent noises, Severa drew her sword and watched intently for movement in the trees. Nothing. Leaves twitched in the wind's direction, but that was all. Puzzled and still afraid, Severa tentatively prepared to turn around, her eyes still fixed on the unseen creature. _...If it's just a stray Risen then I can handle it. Should have brought a better weapon though. Count on me to even get picked on the enemies..._

Five steps away from her observational point, it happened. The Risen all came at once, the closest knocking Severa off her feet and the farthest tossing its axe towards her. Severa bit her tongue to stop from wailing as it struck, fully piercing her thin armor and cutting into her skin. In retaliation she thrust her sword in a random direction, hitting the Risen that had felled her from pure luck, and faced her enemies with a fierce glare.

There were only three; two Fighters and a Paladin, and none looked particularly threatening. Severa expertly vanquished the twin Fighters without a scratch, yet she wasn't given time to gloat- the Paladin cornered her in the process. Left between a massive tree trunk and the enemy, Severa could only partially block the strike from its lance. It struck her in the stomach rather than the chest, protecting her more important organs from damage.

In retaliation, Severa let out a battle yell as she struck- _one, two, three _times, applying all the power her muscles could generate. As quickly as it had come, the final enemy was a fading cloud of mist.

But Severa's real troubles were yet to come. She clamped her hands to her stomach when the pain abruptly hit her, nearly falling to her knees when she saw the dark splashes on the ground. _Good gods-! Why'd I have to leave my healing salve at camp...?! I need to get help. Now. _Driven by vague fear, Severa headed off in the most likely-seeming direction, wishing fervently she had brought a horse.

On her own the injured mercenary could only go so far, with already-tired feet and a bloody slash across her abdomen that persistently deposited scarlet onto the dirt. After several minutes traveling at an average jogging pace, Severa found herself panting on her knees. She was surprised and frustrated at the weakness settling into her body. Looking up, the very faint trail of smoke hanging in the sky from campfires still seemed more than a mile away- assuming that even _was _the Brave Swords' camp. Taking a deep breath and mentally shutting out her growing pain, Severa lifted herself back up to her feet and continued.

Running at this point was getting exhausting; Severa's body insisted she slow to a walking pace barely a minute after getting up again. Movement was accelerating the loss of blood. Ultimately, it would reduce the window of her survival.

_But if I don't get close enough to camp, I won't _have _survival. I just have to keep going. Keep going... Don't stop, no matter what._

The next time Severa halted, it wasn't of her own will. Her legs simply crumpled underneath her like she had seen a pegasus do at the end of its own life. By now an expanding puddle of blood was growing underneath her shaking body. Feeling her fear rise to panic, Severa managed to give out a few desperate calls for help. Her voice's power was almost startling now that she was in a dire circumstance, but no answer was heard.

As thought that was the signal of despair, Severa crumpled to the ground with her eyes preemptively shutting. Her body had reached its limits; now her one hope was that on of the Brave Swords heard her shouts, and would further reach her very quickly.

_Please... Please let them hear me...  
_

_I don't want to die.  
_

_...I don't want to die because Mary thinks I deserve to._

* * *

Mary didn't expect Severa to be absent nearly as long as she was. It was getting close to bedtime, and no sign of the sharp-tongued mercenary. Mary had thought of bringing Morgan along for watch duty, but one look at Robin's face ensured that was a no-go. (Robin had a heavy disapproval of what Morgan and Severa had done, and thought it was "safest" that they stay away from each other.)

_Well, I guess I should have expected that._ Mary thought ruefully. _Probably thinks I'll just get all nasty on her..._

"Morphine, where do you suppose Severa went off to?" Mary inquired, looking at her unicorn foraging nearby. Though she doubted Morphine understood her, the winged horse merely tossed his head slightly and resumed munching on the sparse grass. Mary looked absentmindedly into the forest. What should she reclass Stahl into... _Assassin or Swordmaster? Hmmm..._

A faint noise interrupted her thoughts. Mary stopped dead, feeling her heart skip a beat. What had she just heard? It was _something, _that much was certain- Morphine also had his head lifted, pointed ears perked.

It came again, and this time louder- and more frantic. Mary's feet started to run almost instantaneously in response. It was Severa's voice! She could recognize a familiar voice a mile away thanks to her good hearing (and she had always been prone to impulsive, hasty decisions). Though she was not normally an able runner, Mary tore through the narrow and tree-shrouded paths without any attention paid to her delicate body. She could hear Morphine's hooves pounding behind her, and as though she were being chased ran ever faster.

"SEVERA! _Where are you_?!"

Mary received no answer. Stopping short, she waited the few seconds for Morphine to catch up before leaping onto his back. With a commanding yell she pointed in the direction of Severa's voice, and the pegasus galloped onwards. Mary wasn't aware of how heavy her breathing was, or the pain pulsing in her throat with each breath- none of that mattered now. It was almost nothing compared to what would happen if her worst fear would become reality...

Morphine skidded to a stop just feet from Severa. Thanking everything that they'd found her so promptly, Mary jumped down to her level. Her first instinct was to place her hand over Severa's chest, stifling the bubble of dread inside her own stomach upon seeing the spilled blood. Both girl's faces were flushed and pale, but Severa's felt damper when Mary used her other hand's fingers to take a pulse. Thankfully, Severa was still breathing, even turning her head and opening her eyes about halfway when she felt a hand on her.

"...M-Mary?" Severa's voice was less than a shadow of its normal force and tone. _Gods... Why does it have to be her...?_

"Oh, yes..." Mary whispered, relieved. "Severa... I am _so _sorry..."

"Doesn't... matter." Severa rasped, a bead of blood appearing at her lip. "Just take me... back..."

"Consider it done." Mary said firmly, sliding both arms carefully under Severa's back and lifting her off the blood- and sweat-dampened dirt. For a slender girl, she felt heavy, and Mary had to strain quite a bit to get her onto Morphine's back. Severa's sliced stomach gave another spurt of blood as she was moved, but unbothered Mary clambered gingerly onto her unicorn. Holding Severa, Mary saw that although she was still alive, the increasingly labored breaths she was releasing told Mary would not be for much longer.

"Morphine, GO!"

Living up to his (previously) somewhat unfitting name, Morphine gave a giant leap that nearly unseated Mary and took off, his mane flying about like a flag in a windstorm. Mary had to take great caution in not letting Severa fall, which was hindered even farther by her holding both hands on the wound to decrease the bleeding. However, merely looking at it made her feel wretched- not because of the blood, but because Mary felt it was _her _own fault. If she hadn't bullied Severa earlier, she wouldn't have run off...

Finally reaching camp, Mary once more jumped off Morphine before he fully stopped, Severa locked in her arms. By chance Robin was waiting for her at the entrance, and upon seeing Severa rushed to help Mary carry her before asking any questions. (They did not come long afterward.)

"Mary, what the hell happened?" Robin yelled in confusion, following Mary's direction of the medical tent. His only reply was _Can't talk now, she's on the verge of DEATH, Robin! _Miriel and Henry were gathered around the all-important tents and Mary had to shove her way through them to get inside.

("Heya, Mary! Wait- Is that Severa?!" Henry said in his cheery voice.)

("Where have you been, Mary? ...And whom is that you're carrying?" Miriel asked.)

"Noire, get a Recover staff! And make it _quick_!

* * *

When Mary woke up a few hours later, Severa's life was out of danger. The Recover staff had served only to preserve her life, not necessarily heal her wounds, and the mercenary would need several days of recovery from her injury. Noire (a learning medical unit) had said that Mary came literally just in time; even one more minute and Severa may not have survived. Silently, she remembered last night...

Cordelia's reaction was an immediate and extreme dislike towards Mary for telling her daughter to go and kill herself. Stahl's reaction was that he was glad that Mary had heard her cries for help and reached her in time. Robin's reaction followed the same premise of Cordelia's reaction; but went further, saying that Mary should have taken her own life if Severa died, both to make amends and to ensure she made such an intellectually vacant and compassionately hollow decision ever again. Morgan's reaction?

"Mary, Severa's blood is on your hands." was the first thing he said to Mary, forgoing a normal greeting.

"Morgan... She isn't _dead._" Mary groaned, disguising her shock that now her own son held her culpable for the near-death of a fellow soldier. But to her surprise Morgan shook his head and added, "No. I mean _her_ blood _is on your hands..._"

"...Oh." Mary replied, seeing small stains of blood on the backs of her hands. Morgan had then smiled and went back into his tent for the night.

Looking back at Severa, Mary knew that this whole unpleasant event was her fault. But then again, the fact that Severa was sleeping in her cot instead of dead over a mile away was just as much her fault. _Well... I'll sort this out later. She's alive, and that's what matters. _Mary realized she was whispering aloud, but continued without embarrassment.

_Severa, I am never going to say you're useless _ever_ again._ _You mean way more to me than I thought... and Cordelia would never forgive me if I looked at you the wrong way ever again._

* * *

**I love this story. NOBODY DIES! :D Go, Severa!**


End file.
